Sep
11
2007
The Tracing Paper has been a little neglected recently as I’ve been concentrating on developing a new site, FeedReel on Food and Drink, exploring the range of food and drink writing on the web.
Earlier posts here (particulary the UK Food Blog Search) have touched on this, but it’s really a subject that goes beyond The Tracing Paper’s professed interest in the origins of our food (on which more will follow soon, honest).
For anyone with an interest in food and drink (isn’t that everyone?), the web is an increasingly exciting source of ideas, stimulation and information.
Every day, over 30 fresh articles are posted on over 100 UK food blogs, with over a dozen more on 20-odd UK beer, wine and cider blogs. Numerous specialist websites are constantly adding new content and much of the old mainstream media’s writing on food is also available online.
The only problem is keeping up. It’s all too easy to miss an article on your favourite food and all too difficult tracking down the best information when you’re looking for a particular recipe or the low-down on a restaurant.
This is where FeedReel hopes to help, keeping a close eye on all the latest posts on UK food blogs and websites, collating constantly updated summaries of the latest food and drink writing and news.
And if you’re looking for something specific, FeedReel offers a thorough Food Search, indexing over 200 carefully chosen UK food blogs and websites.
Aug
16
2007
I’ve been tagged for the Fantastic Four blog meme by Richard at superfood. The idea is simply to provide four answers to each of five questions, and to tag four bloggers to continue the meme.
This meme is floating free of its source, but Richard was tagged by Trig, who was tagged by Scott at Real Epicurean … ifantabulous … hishgraphics … Planet Kambling … Hijack Queen … Simple America … It’s now spreading amongst UK food bloggers.
So here are my answers, mostly food related and with a few extra food connections (this is a food blog, after all):
4 jobs I’ve had
Goatherd
Organic veg box packer
Mushroom picker
Tour guide - an opportunity for good lunches all over Italy
4 places I’ve lived
Eye (Suffolk, England) - where Laurels Farm Butchers is shortlisted for the Best Butcher category in the 2007 Suffolk Food Awards
East Harling (Norfolk, England) - which also has a superb butcher, FL Edge & Sons, and the wonderful Jan’s Fruit & Veg
Esanatoglia (Le Marche, Italy) - where I first learned to identify wild mushrooms
Dolgellau (Gwynedd, Wales) - where I was temporarily distracted from food by rhododendrons
4 places I’ve holidayed
Loch Lomond (Scotland) - including a wonderful lunch at Monachyle Mhor, somewhere in the distance in the photo above
Continue Reading »
Aug
02
2007
Amazon.com has today announced a new venture: AmazonFresh will be delivering fresh (and frozen and “shelf-stable”) foods, ordered online, to households in Seattle.
The foods available will include “highest-quality fresh fruits and vegetables” and a “leading assortment of natural, organic, and specialty brands”.
Some of the produce is described as “farm-fresh” but there’s no further information on its provenance, at least not to anyone without a by-invitation access code to start shopping. AmazonFresh follows Amazon’s rather quiet introduction of dry groceries to its product range last year.
This is a more innovative move in the US than it would have been in the UK, where most of the major supermarkets offer online shopping and delivery. PlanetRetail reports (citing the Food Marketing Institute) that just 6% of US shoppers have bought groceries online in the last year, whereas 80% have bought something online.
Continue Reading »
Jul
20
2007
6th September 2007 Update
For a bigger, better and more freshly maintained search, try the Food Search at food.feedreel.co.uk, searching more than just blogs but with a refinement to narrow any search to UK food blogs.
My list of UK food blogs (previously below) will now be maintained at FeedReel’s blog directory. And don’t miss the constantly updated listing of UK food blog posts!
The UK Food Blog Search now searches over 140 blogs, all looking at some aspect of food in the UK. Between them these blogs represent an enormous democratic wealth of information and opinion on ingredients, recipes, restaurants, shops and more.
There are some fairly primitive refinements available from the results page to narrow results to recipes, wine or restaurants. These refinements should become more refined shortly!
The blogs currently indexed are listed below now at FeedReel’s directory of UK food blogs. I’m adding to (and correcting) this list almost daily so please let me know of any omissions. Some of these blogs are clearly no longer live, but their archives are still online and worth searching.
May
29
2007
May has almost passed without a single post to the Tracing Paper. The birth of our second daughter on April 28th has given me plenty to do besides. I’ll resume regular postings to the Tracing Paper once our expanded family finds a settled routine in a few weeks (or months?).
Meanwhile, other bloggers have been celebrating the seasonal joys of one of the most exciting months of the culinary year, with delicious foods in season from new carrots and elderflower to sardines and sea trout.
With English asparagus at its best, superfood has some interesting observations and tempting recipe ideas, while thepassionatecook sings the praises of the more continentally favoured white asparagus and the Real Epicurean proposes an intriguingly mouth watering recipe for chilled radish leaf and asparagus soup.
I’m particularly sorry to have missed my chance to post on the subject of hop shoots, a delicacy available free in hedgerows everywhere or at great expense from innovative retailers such as Booths. Next year!
Apr
10
2007
6th September 2007 Update
For a bigger, better and more freshly maintained search, try the Food Search at food.feedreel.co.uk, searching more than just blogs but with a refinement to narrow any search to UK food blogs.
My list of UK food blogs (previously below) will now be maintained at FeedReel’s blog directory. And don’t miss the constantly updated listing of UK food blog posts!
Having just discovered Google Co-op, I’ve created a custom search of UK food blogs (using Trig’s comprehensive list at the UK Food Bloggers’ Association). It’s useful for finding recipes, checking views on ingredients, restaurants etc, looking for local references and more.
Try it here or at the UK Food Blog Search homepage.
